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Egypt satirist says show’s suspension wasn’t nice

Updated at: 12/05/2013 1:06 AM
By SARAH EL DEEB

(AP) CAIRO - Popular Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef said Wednesday that he’ll take the military and the government at their word that they were not behind the decision to take his weekly television program off the air, but he said it still doesn’t make them look "very nice."

Youssef, often compared to U.S. comedian Jon Stewart, spoke in his first televised appearance in Egypt since October. The private station CBC suspended his show after the season’s first episode, which was highly critical of the military and the nationalist fervor gripping the nation after the popularly backed coup that ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

The station said the satirist had violated its editorial policy and contractual obligations, and that he upset Egyptians sensibilities by attacking "symbols of the state."

Government and presidential officials at the time said the decision was a private issue between Youssef and the station.

Youssef, whose show called "The Program" mirrored Stewart’s "The Daily Show," said he truly believes the military-backed government’s denials that it did not order the suspension but added that "at the end of the day, the regime doesn’t look very nice."

He denied he criticized the country’s powerful and popular military chief, Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who removed Morsi from office, but added: "Suppose I did? At the end of the day he is a person."

"The message this would send is that you want to silence people," he said.

He said he hoped el-Sissi doesn’t run for the presidency, and that the people’s "love" for him doesn’t "spoil him." El-Sissi has not ruled out he would run for president, and a large following is already urging him to nominate himself.

Youssef still criticized the CBC, saying it used contractual pretexts to justify its decision.

"This is a program that will upset some people, please others, and others won’t care for it," he said. "But you don’t have to be a custodian of the people."

In a second, unaired episode this season, Youssef said he asked authorities or the station to say clearly if they considered that the program harms Egypt. "I would have stayed home. But this would be a very bad sign for the country," he said.

Youssef regularly poked fun at Morsi and his Islamist allies. They filed a lawsuit against him and Youssef was briefly held before he posted bail.

"The fact of the matter is after 30 episodes (under Morsi), the program wasn’t stopped," he told his interviewer Yosri Fouda on private broadcaster ONTV. "But it was (now) stopped after one episode." Several complaints were filed after Youssef’s first episode, by private citizens and politicians accusing him of disrespecting the country’s military rulers and offending public sentiments.

He said such "violent" reactions imply that the government and the military were "that fragile to be affected by the program."

Youssef also suggested that the suspension of the program could have been related to one of his producers’ family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails. He said the day after recording the second episode, the father of his producer was detained on accusations that he supported the Brotherhood.

"I am confused," he said. "We keep saying that we won’t go back to the old ways. But this is worrying."

Youssef took to task his once-loyal liberal fans for having the same low tolerance of criticism as his Islamist detractors under Morsi.

The production company of Youssef’s show said after the suspension of the program, it decided to leave the private station. Youssef said there are a number of stations are already in talks with him to take his program, but he was waiting to settle the legal dispute with CBC.

Youssef said he hoped he would reach an agreement with an Egyptian channel, not a foreign station.

Youssef was one of four foreign journalists honored at the Press Freedom Awards last month by the Committee to Protect Journalists in New York.